Batfamily Hugs
by Composer of Discord
Summary: Written in response to this prompt: The Batfam keep surprising Bruce with unexpected hugs
1. Pt1 Dick

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or any of the characters, nor do I profit from writing bad fanfics about them.

Author's Note: I'm sorry if I did the prompt wrong, or not how it was originally imagined. Nonetheless, I hope it can still make you smile.

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 **Batfamily Hugs Pt. 1: Dick**

Bruce was emotionally… awkward. The family knew that, and yet that never stopped them from invading Bruce's personal space. It all started with Dick Grayson, the first Robin, naturally. Grayson came from a circus where everyone was open and friendly. They would offer him bright smiles and encouraging pats on the backs. And of course the hugs. Oh, how he loved the hugs; hugs from everyone. The acrobats would pull him in with their legs when dangling from a rope or standing on their hands, the Dare Devils would trap Dick with one arm and mess his hair up, and even the elephants would wrap their long trunks lovingly around the boy wonder. And then his parents… his parents held him when he needed it most. Now they were no longer there, leaving Dick to drag his feet over to his adoptive father and slip his lanky arms around his brooding mentor.

"Robin." Bruce would lightly admonish while his whole frame stiffened to the sudden arms around him. However, his plea seemed to fall upon deaf ears as Dick only buried his sniffling nose further into the black cape. Only Robin could get away with wiping his runny nose on Batman's cape.

Hearing the small boy poorly conceal his shaky sobs, Bruce wrapped one arm behind him to press against the small back of the boy as if to say, _'Stay here; you're safe here.'_ Whether Dick fully understood the silent message or not, he only wrapped his arms around Batman tighter, and didn't dare to let go.

Now, even at an age when boys – men didn't really hug their fathers, Dick wrapped his long arms around Bruce's shoulders accompanied by his legs around the older man's waist.

"Dick." Bruce set his cup of coffee down. He didn't even need to glance over his shoulder to know who it was.

"See! I told you he would set his coffee down for me." Dick hollered back at a scoffing Jason. Meanwhile Bruce could feel an impending headache throb at his temple. He promptly picked his coffee back up and moved around the kitchen as if he didn't have an ex-robin clinging to his back.

"Hey Bruce."

"Yes, Dick?"

"Can you grab me a bowl?" Bruce did so wordlessly, "Thanks, now can you pour me some cereal?" Bruce sighed, but reached for the box of Cheerios nonetheless.

"Not that one!" Bruce's hand faltered as he was forced to lean forward with Dick's weight pushing him into the counter. "Captain Crunch."

Bruce clenched his jaw, annoyed, but reached for the right cereal this time. "Your teeth are going to fall out with all the sugar you eat."

"Don't worry, Bruce. I brush twice a day as per Alfred's instructions."

Bruce released a small huff of a laugh, "I'm sure you do."

Without having to be told, Bruce poured Dick some milk too for his cereal, and handed his ward a spoon as well.

"Thanks, Bruce." Dick took the spoon, promptly set his legs upon the ground once more, and took his bowl of cereal to eat in front of a dumbfounded Jason.

Once Jason got a hold of himself, he pointed his fork over at Dick accusingly, "That doesn't count."

"What'd ya mean it doesn't count? Of course it counts. I hugged him."

"Yeah, but he wasn't surprised by it."

"You can't surprise, Bruce. Unless I told him Babs was pregnant – which she's not—" Dick promptly added before Jason could comment, "Bruce wouldn't be surprised."

"Maybe not by you."

"Fine then, you give it a go."

Jason smirked, "Nice try, but that wasn't part of the agreement either." He pushed away from the table to put away his dishes before Alfred could admonish him, "Oh, and you owe me twenty bucks, Dickie bird."


	2. Pt2 Jason

Warnings: Mentions of character death, canon typical violence, and minor language

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 **Batfamily Hugs Pt.2: Jason**

Jason wasn't really part of this whole bet. I mean, he did make it with Dick, but he wasn't actively participating. He was just collecting the money he knew he was going to win. He wasn't going to hug the Batman. He wasn't going to run up to him and say 'Surprise!' before promptly wrapping his arms around him. That wasn't part of the deal. That wasn't part of the plan. So when it happened… it totally wasn't because Dickie bird told him to. Absolutely not, nor was it because Jason ever wanted to hug the Batman. Jason never wanted a hug; he never needed a hug. Some would say – particularly Dick – that Jason not being hugged as a child was the root to all his problems. Jason begged to differ.

It wasn't that Jason was never hugged as a child. He was. His mother would hug him with promises that she would be better. She'd hold him tight to her breast with tears tugging at the corners of her eyes. Jason would never admit it, but every time she held him close and whispered in his ear, he wanted to believe her. But things don't ever work out that way, do they? Or at least Jason grew up thinking this way, and therefore grew up a lot earlier than other kids his age.

Hugs… hugs came with broken promises. The arms around him were nothing but chains, and the words poison. Therefore, Jason didn't want to be chained, and he wouldn't chain anyone else to him. Even when watching Dick run up to Bruce out of nowhere to wrap his arms around him, Jason always looked away. He didn't want to chain himself to the Batman like Dick did, nor did he want Batman to chain himself to him.

However, after Jason was revived from the Lazarus pit, after he had caused havoc in Gotham, and nearly killed the Batman, the last thing he thought he wanted – needed—were those arms wrapped around him. But they did – they were wound tightly around Jason just like chains.

"Jason." Was all Batman had said to him, what Bruce had pleaded to him, and yet with just the sound of his name, Jason knew what the other meant.

'Come back to me. We can fix this.' Were the unspoken words, the unspoken promise. And Jason wanted to believe them.

It had been some time after that, and Bruce hadn't hugged him since. Instead the man kept his distance, yet remained close all the same. Jason knew Bruce was walking on eggshells when it came to him, and some sadistic side of Jason wanted to keep it that way, and yet another part of him wanted… wanted a kind of closeness Jason wasn't sure he quite deserved after everything he had done.

Nonetheless, he found himself back-to-back with the Bat, fighting like the good old days. Even after all these years, Bruce still moved like he did back then: swift and powerful, with every move calculated to what would hurt the most yet cause the least amount of damage. The sight of it all made Jason's heart race, and blood pump with pent up adrenaline.

Spinning on his heel, he shot twice. One. Two. The two men sneaking up behind the Bat were down. In turn, Batman had turned to toss two batarangs at the men trying to sneak up on Jason. Both struck their intended targets, leaving no one left but the two standing with arms outstretched towards each other.  
Without thinking, Jason closed that distance.

He leaned forward, wrapped his arms around the Bat even though both hands still held smoking guns. It was only for a moment – or at least it was supposed to be. Instead Jason had stayed in that position longer than he intended, and was only reminded that he was hugging – HUGGING – the Bat when Batman awkwardly coughed before saying, "I hope those were rubber bullets."

Jason wanted to laugh, cry really, but he swallowed it all down like he did with most things and nodded. "Tranquilizers actually."

Jason pulled back from the Bat to twirl his pistols around his pointer fingers like an old Western cowboy and replace them back into their holsters. Batman looked unimpressed.

"Okay, so maybe I added some paralytic agents, but what's the big difference anyway?"

Batman narrowed his gaze behind his white lenses, and boy could Jason feel it. Nonetheless, he only smiled at Bruce thinking – knowing he surprised the old man.

Screw Dick, he won.

But despite all that, it was only fair Jason thought. If Batman was going to chain Jason to him, then it was only fair that Jason would chain the Bat to him.

'You're stuck with me now, old man.' Were the unspoken words, and if Batman's shadow of smirk was anything to go by, he was probably thinking: 'Dear Lord, what have I gotten myself into?' Or so Jason thought.

Tbc...

A/N: Thanks for reading if you've gotten down this far. I hope to add the rest of the family, although this was written at the spur of the moment and I'm godawful at updating. Nonetheless, I hope you could enjoy what is here so far. Thanks for reading again, and take care!


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